A Love Forgotten
by Sashi
Summary: Inuyasha sees something he doesn't like when he visits Kagome's time after she leaves the Feudal Era for good. Will he come back when he discovers she is deathly ill? One Shot!


Disclaimer: This, as most of my other fan fictions, is based off a dream. I really wanted to keep it, so I decided to write it out. One shot. One shot. One shot. I don't know how many times I have to repeat it, but One shot. I will not be writing any more chapters. I never do this because it annoys me when other people tell me what music to listen to when I'm reading; when I was writing this, I was listening to My Immortal by Evanescence.  
  
A/N: Poor Kagome..*gives Kagome a hug*  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out desperately, struggling to keep up with the furious hanyou. "Please Inuyasha!" She begged, tripping once more over her lavish wedding gown.  
  
The beautiful thing had already been ripped and torn in dozens of places, making it a useless, horrible souvenir from the worst day of Kagome's life.  
  
Kagome rushed down the stairs in her pursuit. Her heeled foot missed a step, and with a gasp of shock, she tumbled down the rest of the stone steps, landing at the bottom in a heap.  
  
The hanyou never looked back as he ran with incredible speed, even for a half-demon. His amber eyes glinted in the moonlight, trying desperately to force the small tears forming away. Demons don't cry.  
  
Kagome pulled herself up, broken and bleeding, and forced herself to continue going. She wouldn't lose him.  
  
Inuyasha had already gotten to the beach. Forcing his way over the soft sand, he took a flying leap and landed on the deck of the elegant boat, meant to transport two lovers to their honeymoon. He threatened the captain to start the boat.  
  
"But- The girl!" The captain said in shock.  
  
"Do it." Inuyasha hissed, showing off his fangs.  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
The boat made its way from shore, and Inuyasha sat on the deck facing the beach.  
  
Kagome finally arrived, with what she was sure was a broken ankle, numerous bumps and bruises, and quite a few cuts, all bleeding over the white lace.  
  
She shrugged them off. All that mattered was that she got to him before he got away.  
  
She couldn't lose him.  
  
What she saw broke her heart. Inuyasha on a boat, already some miles away.  
  
With a gasp of shock and a sob, she collapsed She wept fiercely into her chest, trying to take control of her extremely rocky emotions.  
  
"Inuyasha," she moaned, before passing out on the sand. Alone, scared, and unloved.  
  
* * * * * SOME TIME LATER * * * * *  
  
Inuyasha sat in a high branch of his favorite tree. It wasn't the God tree, seeing as that was in Inuyasha's Forest.  
  
He daren't go there, where there were chances of running into Miroku, Sango, Shippo, or Kaede.  
  
He sighed as sleep overtook him in her powerful but gentle arms.  
  
His dream started out small, simple.  
  
Swirling lights and colors, soft tones that made him smile and sink deeper in slumber.  
  
Then the colors swirled into the form of a face.  
  
A woman's sad face.  
  
Deep, brown eyes looked at him, teary-eyed.  
  
The tones turned into her sobbing. "Inuyasha..."  
  
He struggled in his sleep.  
  
He didn't like what he was seeing, what he was remembering.  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
He couldn't find an exit to this dream. He struggled.  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
He awoke from his distressing sleep with a rock to the head.  
  
"Wake up, you moron!"  
  
Inuyasha looked down and was shocked to see Shippo, looking much older than when he had last saw him, with a cross look on his face.  
  
"What are you doing here?" The hanyou demanded angrily. "I told you all never to come after me again!"  
  
Shippo looked equally angry.  
  
"We would've stayed away...."  
  
"But...?" Inuyasha growled, impatient.  
  
"BUT..." Shippo continued, glaring at Inuyasha. "Kagome is sick. REALLY sick. She's been calling out your name."  
  
Silence filled the space. A look of concern flitted across the hanyou's face, but he caught it and covered it quickly.  
  
"What do I care?" He sneered. "Don't you remember what she did to me?"  
  
"She did NOTHING to you!" Shippo shouted. "She was only living her life! The one YOU turned down!"  
  
"She left!" Inuyasha shouted back.  
  
Shippo said nothing for a moment.  
  
"I only came here to tell you. It's your decision to make. I'm going to find food. I'll be leaving in 15 minutes. You decide whether or not you want to see the girl that saved your life countless times."  
  
Shippo went off, searching for some berries to snack on. //What a jerk.// He thought to himself.  
  
He looked down at the small orb that hung around his neck, and remembered back to the day Kagome gave it to him.  
  
~~~Begin Flashback~~~  
  
"I'm sorry, guys. But you don't need me anymore! We've put together the Shikon No Tama, and Naraku has been defeated. You have no more need for a jewel detector." Kagome said sadly.  
  
"But you're more than that to us!" Shippo cried, jumping on her shoulder. "We love you, Kagome! Please don't leave us!"  
  
Kagome smiled softly and gently rubbed behind his ear.  
  
"I'm sorry, Shippo, but I have a life to lead. I have to go back to my time. It's the way it should be. I don't belong here. I've gotten into a good college. I plan to get married and have a family. I can't do that here," She said, shooting an angry glare at Inuyasha.  
  
Sango noticed, but decided not to mention it.  
  
"Kagome, I want you to know that on behalf of us all, I wish you good luck in life. We've had a wonderful adventure together, and those memories will stay with us forever." With a sniff, Sango reached over and embraced the young woman.  
  
Kagome smiled gratefully and hugged Miroku as well. Her eyes widened, but she smiled. "I'll let you get away with that one," she said. "Think of it as a good-bye gift."  
  
Sango hit the monk on the back of the head, but laughed. Miroku just grinned sheepishly.  
  
Kaede smiled and embraced the girl as well. "Kagome, you've learned much while here. Use it." She said with a wink.  
  
"Thank you, Kaede." Kagome said respectfully. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."  
  
She looked at Inuyasha expectantly, but when he didn't budge, she got angry.  
  
"Is this how you want it to be?" She asked softly.  
  
Inuyasha just grunted.  
  
"Is this how you want me to remember you?" She cried.  
  
"I don't want to have to remember you!" He shouted. "I want to be able to see you everyday!"  
  
"Well, I'm sorry, but that's not how it works!" Kagome shouted back. She took a deep breath. "Inuyasha, I don't belong here. I'm sorry, but I must leave. You know, you can visit me whenever you wish. Will you visit me?"  
  
A snort was his response.  
  
"Fine." She said angrily. "Be that way."  
  
"Shippo, I want to talk o you outside, please." Kagome said, carrying the kitsune in her arms. They stood outside the shack with Shippo in Kagome's arms.  
  
"I wish you wouldn't leave, Kagome." Shippo said sadly.  
  
"I know." Kagome relied quietly. "But I have to."  
  
Shippo just hugged her.  
  
"Shippo, I want to give you something. I don't know how Sango and Miroku's relationship will be with Inuyasha, but I know it will always be strong with you. I want you all to feel free to visit me whenever you want. That's why I'm giving you the Shikon no Tama." She said, removing the necklace from her head and putting it over Shippo's.  
  
He gasped. "Are you sure? You think I can handle the responsibility?" He asked.  
  
"I trust you." Kagome smiled. "But know that who ever has this jewel, trouble will follow them wherever they go. Stay with Miroku and Sango. Train with them. Watch out for them, and you will be fine. You can all protect each other."  
  
"But what about Inuyasha?" Shippo asked.  
  
"I don't know." Kagome said softly. "I don't believe he will ever visit me, but if he does, he doesn't need the jewel to do it." She stood up and sat Shippo on the ground.  
  
"I should be leaving now." She said sadly. "Goodbye, Shippo. I love you and all the others. Will you tell them that?"  
  
Shippo nodded solemnly.  
  
With that, Kagome made her way to the Bone Eater's well and jumped down it.  
  
~~~End Flashback~~~  
  
The trio had visited the girl often. She had gone to college and gotten a job. She grew up.  
  
Shippo doubted that Inuyasha had ever visited the girl, though they all knew he wanted to.  
  
Whenever they would plan a trip to the well, they always tried to convince the hanyou to come. He always refused.  
  
Until one day, when they tried to sneak through. Inuyasha noticed, and wondered why they hadn't tried to get him to come, too.  
  
They tried to stop him, but he overcame them. He jumped through the well, and came to the other side, only to see one of the worst scenes of his life.  
  
Kagome's wedding.  
  
They had all been so angry at him. They yelled at him constantly.  
  
After that day, Inuyasha had told them that he was going off to live by himself, and never to come near him again.  
  
The friend's had continued to visit Kagome, who now lived alone. Her life had been a sad one, and it was already coming to an end.  
  
Shippo brushed a tear away and walked back to Inuyasha's tree.  
  
The hanyou was standing there with a small pack thrown over his back.  
  
"Well?" He asked. "Are you just going to stand there, or we going?"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kagome lay in bed. She hadn't left it in what seemed like an eternity. She was extremely weak and having problems walking short distances, even to the bathroom.  
  
Sango, Miroku and Shippo were always at her side.  
  
She was back at her mother's home, unable to care for herself in her beautiful apartment anymore. She had been forced to give up her independent lifestyle when she was diagnosed with lung cancer.  
  
After chemotherapy and radiation, and any other remedies known to man, they had realized that they caught it too late.  
  
Kagome decided that she didn't want to die in a cold sterile hospital room, but surrounded by her loved ones in a warm environment.  
  
They had set up a bed in her mother's dining room. Despite her complaints, she was still hooked up to IVs and life support. A crash cart sat in the corner of the room, just in case. They had hired nurses to take care of her and make her as comfortable as possible.  
  
Kagome had kept up a strong front, but her loved ones could see past it.  
  
In her lengthy sleeps, she would often call out Inuyasha's name. She had distressing dreams, and it was all taking it's toll on her.  
  
Though no one said it aloud, they knew her time was coming, and soon.  
  
That was when Sango, Miroku, and Shippo decided to bring Inuyasha. Even if it involved kicking his ass. She should see him before she died.  
  
Sango and Miroku were currently by her bedside. They had told her mother to get some rest, while they watched over Kagome.  
  
They were speaking quietly when Inuyasha stepped in. They stopped.  
  
The room filled with silence and tension.  
  
~~~Inuyasha's POV~~~  
  
//She's so bad off. I had no idea.//  
  
He stared at the young girl. Her skin was a gaunt, grayish tone, and stretched tightly across her cheekbones. She had lost most of her hair from chemotherapy, and had a scarf wrapped around her head to keep her warm. She was thinner than he had ever seen her, and though he couldn't see her eyes, he would've guessed that they were dull, missing the spark of life and energy they once contained.  
  
"Kagome," he breathed. Just the site of her was enough to bring tears to his eyes, even after so long. He fought them away.  
  
Sango and Miroku stood up, and nodded approvingly at him. They took Shippo and left the room.  
  
Inuyasha sat down in a her next to her.  
  
He placed his clawed hand over her dry, frail one.  
  
"Kagome," he whispered again.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name.  
  
She turned her head, with difficulty, towards him.  
  
"Inuyasha?"  
  
"Shh." he said gently.  
  
"I'm sorry," she croaked, a tear sliding down her face.  
  
"No." Inuyasha said. "I'm sorry. I've been so stupid."  
  
Kagome didn't seem to hear him.  
  
"I tried to hold on, but I couldn't. It was too much."  
  
"Kagome?" He asked.  
  
"She's delirious." Kagome's mother said from the doorway. "She has been for some quite some time now."  
  
"I- I-."  
  
"There's nothing to say." Her mother said coldly. "You broke her heart. You never visited. You ruined her wedding. And now she's dying."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Sorry doesn't save my daughter's life." She snapped. She began sobbing, and Sango appeared. She put a comforting arm around the grieving mother, and led her away.  
  
Miroku entered.  
  
"She's so devastated. First she lost Sota to pneumonia. Now she's losing the only child she had left to cancer. She has a right to be devastated." Miroku said quietly.  
  
"Sota's dead?" Inuyasha asked with shock.  
  
"We wanted you to come to the funeral, but you were too busy being stuck in your pig-headed ways." Miroku said.  
  
He sighed and sat next to Inuyasha.  
  
"At least you're here. That's all that matters."  
  
Inuyasha let a few tears slide down his cheek.  
  
"Is there nothing I can do?" He asked.  
  
"No. They caught her disease too late. But you can comfort her. Keep her happy until the time comes. That's the most any of us can do now. Keep her comfortable."  
  
And that's what Inuyasha did. He helped out as often as he could. He kept up the house. He comforted Mrs. Higurashi. And though he doubted she knew it, he kept to Kagome's bedside everyday.  
  
About 6 days after Inuyasha arrived to Kagome's time, she passed away in her sleep. Everyone agreed that it was for the best, for even staying awake had been painful to Kagome. She was at peace now.  
  
The funeral was very private, with only the group of friends, her mother, and the nurses that had been there.  
  
It was beautiful. She was cremated, as according to her wishes, and her ashes were sprinkled over the beach where Inuyasha had left her. Where her heart had broken.  
  
Inuyasha and the group had returned to the Feudal Era, but visited Kagome's mother every week.  
  
Not too long after Kagome's death, her mother passed away as well. She had no children to care for, her father had died long ago, and she had a broken heart.  
  
They buried her next to her grandfather and son in a nearby cemetery.  
  
* * * * * 


End file.
